For the first time, remittances above $2bn for six consecutive months: PM Imran Khan

Prime Minister Imran Khan took to Twitter today to share his joy over yet another record-breaking month of remittances from overseas Pakistanis.

In his tweet, the premier expressed his gratitude towards the overseas Pakistani community for continuing to contribute to the nation’s remittances. He noted that the month of December 2020 witnessed a total of $2.4 billion worth of remittances pouring into Pakistan.

“I want to thank our overseas Pakistanis for yet another record-breaking month of remittances in Dec: $2.4 bn,” the PM tweeted.

As it happens, this is the sixth month in a row that Pakistan has received remittances worth over $2 billion from overseas Pakistanis over the course of a single month. In fact, this is a historic accomplishment as the country has hit such consistency for the first time ever.

“MashaAllah, 1st time in Pakistan remittances have been above $2 bn for 6 consecutive months,” PM Imran Khan noted.

Overall, over the course of the past six months, a massive $14.2 billion worth of remittance money has been poured into Pakistan. This represents a fairly impressive growth of 24.9% over the previous year.

“Total for 6 months of this fiscal year $14.2 bn – a 24.9% growth over last yr,” the premier added.

Early in November 2020, the World Bank predicted that Pakistan would reap a colossal $24 billion in remittances over the course of the year, indicating a growth rate of about nine percent.

Pakistan witnessed a particularly sharp increase in remittances in July 2020, mostly from Gulf Coast countries like Saudi Arabia. This particular spike in remittances during this period can be attributed, in part, to the Haj effect, with Pakistani migrants in Saudi Arabia remitting home the money saved for pilgrimage to Makkah due to a massive drop in the number of Hajj visas because of the COVID-19-induced restrictions.